I am curious about the changes Toyota has made in the 2005 model. So if anyone out there originally test drove or owned an '04, how does the '05 compare?? I can't find any info online regarding the 2005--other than the minor price spike. Thanks!
This article says nothing about the 2005 model. It just compares the 2003 to the 2004. You can expect Toyota to correct some very minor customer complaints but make no changes of real substance for some time. Good article by the way.
This has been covered in detail in a previous post. All 2005 Priuses will have a rear wiper and all will cost about $500 more than equivalent 2004s. There's no other difference between both years. I don't believe that anyone has a 2005 Prius yet, so that review was based on the 2004.
One person over on PriusOnline said he had just picked up his 2005, and it was in his driveway. I was surprised they'd be out this early, but that's what he posted. Anyway, the 2005 is identical to the 2004. The gas tank filler pipe and gas gauge were already corrected late in the '04 model year, so that's not a model-year change. The various SSC's also don't represent model-year changes, though an unrepaired early '04 would be different than a late '04 or an '05.
They added two plastic buttons to the headliner to address the issue of it sagging down about an inch on the 2004. They also corrected the minor issues that were TSBs on the 2004. Nothing of significance changed. There is an upgrade in the works to address handling, with stiffer components and a little sound dampening but we have only heard confirmation of it being applied to EU models. Stay tuned.
Oh, the packages changed also with six option packages instead of nine and the SKS feature is included in all but one of the packages.
I think there's a difference in the accelerator? I recall in one of the threads discussing the differences that someone mentioned that the accelerator feel is slightly different
We have an 04 and an 05. They drive exactly the same. Even after putting over 30k on mine it still is identical in feel and tightness to the new one. The poster that felt the difference had a problem with his car that needed to be repaired in my opinion.
On an 2005 you can toggle using the steering wheel button between the Consumption screen and the Energy Monitor screen. Our 04 (purchased Feb 04) did not have that feature until the MFD died and had to be replaced by a newer MFD, which then made this toggle work from the steering wheel.
Older year '04 models had the toggle feature. I picked mine up in August '04 and it switches back and forth.
Okay... newbie question here. I have an '05 (built in November '04), and I can't find a toggle on the wheel for switching between consumption & energy modes. Is this only on the higher end packages? I have a relatively low end package - no nav, etc) (but then again, I had to wait only 2 days for it).
